There is a Notre Dame Cathedral in Pengzhou, the holy land for wedding photos
Recently, an old church located on the mountainside has unknowingly become one of the most popular “holy spots” for wedding photos taken by couples in Chengdu and even across Sichuan. It is reported that this old church is the 100-year-old "Announcement Seminary" located in Huishui Village, Bailu Town, Pengzhou City. Its geographical location is very "hidden." Driving from Chengdu, you have to pass through gravel roads, dirt roads, and field roads. After 2 hours of bumpy roads, you can see its "true face of Mount Lu".
○Visit
The "Notre Dame de Paris" hidden in the mountains
Yesterday morning, it took a 2-hour drive from Chengdu and then hiked up to half On the mountainside, the reporter finally saw the legendary "old church". There are two arc-shaped open-air staircases in the shape of an "eight", a main building about 120 meters long from north to south, wing rooms of the same size, and the most special thing is a typical European Gothic chapel in the middle. The high vaulted roof, light beige exterior walls, and light brown lines of different thicknesses make it look like a "Notre Dame de Paris" that transcends time and space. Walking around the patio, I suddenly discovered that the whole building still feels a bit like a Chinese courtyard house, a combination of Chinese and Western elements.
Grandma Tang Xue’an, the caretaker of the church, told reporters a distant story. More than 100 years ago, a French missionary named Hong Chuanguang came all the way to Bailu Town and spent more than 20 years building the Catholic church "Annunciation Seminary" here in 1908.
○Narrative
Photos of the church caught the attention of newcomers
According to the reporter’s understanding, the old church first became “hot” on the Internet. At the beginning, some photographers took photos of the "Annunciation Seminary". The vicissitudes and beautiful buildings in the photos made this old church begin to attract attention. On weekends, many photographers drive there to capture the beauty of European architecture. Later, a photographer posted the photos online, which attracted the attention of many newlyweds pursuing romance.
According to insiders, as early as 2003, a couple came to Bailu Town to look for this church after seeing a post about "Annunciation Monastery" taken by a photographer on the Internet. At that time, the bride was very uncomfortable while wearing her wedding dress, but as soon as she stepped into the old church, she immediately forgot about the fatigue on the way. Leaning against the window lattice of a church built more than 100 years ago, the groom and the bride seemed to have transformed into princes and princesses. Since then, more and more couples have chosen to take classic wedding photos here.
The old church welcomed 8 couples in one day
Going to the Annunciation Monastery to take European classical wedding photos once became a "romantic expectation" for wedding photos. Grandma Tang said that nowadays, every weekend when the weather is nice, you can see photographers bringing couples in wedding dresses to take wedding photos. In addition to newlyweds from Chengdu, there are also people from Shifang, Deyang, Mianyang, Xindu, Xinjin and even Ya'an who come to take wedding photos.
Grandma Tang said that one day last year, eight couples took wedding photos in the old church at the same time. She said that it was a sunny weekend and the sun was very good. At 10 o'clock in the morning, there was a newlywed couple who had changed into dresses waiting at the door to be photographed. After a while, 7 new couples arrived one after another. The brides all wore pure white wedding dresses. On that day, the old church was extremely lively, with brides in every corner, and all that could be heard was the sound of flashing lights. Even the wing room became a temporary dressing room for the brides. Due to the large number of people, there are even queues to take pictures in some places! This scene really opened the eyes of the villagers who had been guarding the church all their lives. It turned out that the old church was so popular!
Ren Xianqi was also fascinated by the old church
Later, the small mountain village not only became a "holy place" for many couples to take wedding photos, but also attracted many foreigners to visit. There are also celebrity arrivals. Granny Tang said that since the Annunciation Monastery is a Catholic church, Catholics will also come to worship, including many foreigners with blue eyes and yellow hair. It makes the villagers here feel very fresh.
The year before last, artist Ren Xianqi was invited by a company to come to the "Announcement Seminary" to shoot an advertisement. Upon learning that a big star was coming, the whole Bailu Town was in a state of excitement. That morning, heavy crowds came from all directions and surrounded the Annunciation Seminary on three floors inside and three outside. After Ren Xianqi arrived, he was also shocked by this "Notre Dame de Paris" and gave a thumbs up on the spot. "He liked the old church very much and couldn't stop looking around!" Granny Tang recalled.
○Current situation
The cost of taking photos has increased to 150 yuan, and no one comes?
But what is puzzling is that not a single tourist came to visit the entire morning, let alone the newlyweds who came to take wedding photos. Why is this legendary and popular "holy place" for wedding photo shoots so neglected? When reporters raised doubts, Granny Tang revealed the reason. It turns out that the old church had been charging 100 yuan for people who came to take photos, but yesterday the fee increased to 150 yuan.
It is reported that the "Lianbao Monastery" stipulates that visitors are charged 5 yuan per person to visit, and 100 yuan each time to take wedding photos and advertisements. Granny Tang said that this was really a last resort. Many parts of the old church were dilapidated. In recent years, more and more newcomers took photos, and the maintenance costs were also increasing year by year. In order to ensure the repair of the old church, she thought of raised the price.
Last month, Granny Tang explained the reasons for the price increase to some photographers, but everyone said: If the price is too high, they will no longer consider taking wedding photos in the old church. Yesterday was the first day of the price increase. Granny Tang came to the church early to wait for the newlyweds who came to take photos. Although the sun was shining brightly yesterday, after waiting all morning, no newlyweds came to take wedding photos, which was in great contrast to the bustle on weekends as usual. Granny Tang was also a little depressed. She said that all she could do now was wait.
At noon, the reporter left the "Announcement Monastery" after failing to wait for the newlyweds to take photos. But on the way down the mountain, a photo studio's camera truck drove up, with a couple wearing wedding dresses sitting on it. According to the groom, they were preparing to take wedding photos in the old church and had no idea about the increase in photo prices. But you only get married once in a lifetime, so price is not that important. At 8 o'clock last night, the reporter got through Granny Tang's phone call. On the phone, Granny Tang was very happy to say that two couples came to take pictures in the afternoon, and she also expressed her understanding of the price increase. The shooting process went very smoothly.